Healing Process
by RinkyPink
Summary: Iruka knows how to look after his jounin when he needs him. KakaIru fluff, with a teeny smidgeon of angst!


Iruka raised his head at the sound of a knock on the door, stomach tightening instinctively

**Disclaimers: Ah, if only… haha! I own nothing (damnit!) except the laptop I'm writing on.**

Iruka raised his head at the sound of a knock on the door, stomach tightening instinctively. Kakashi had been away on a week long mission- an S-class- and as a result Iruka had been tense and on edge, terrified of hearing any bad news. Kakashi had been due back yesterday, and so far there had been no sign of him or of the jounins he had left with. Despite telling himself firmly over and over that Kakashi would be _fine_, that he wasn't a famous nin for nothing, Iruka couldn't dislodge the solid lump of apprehension that seemed to be permanently wedged in his stomach.

The young chuunin made his way across the kitchen, biting his lip before he yanked the door open, prayers rising in his mind to almost overwhelm him. _Please God don't be ANBU let him be alright don't let him be hurt don't let him be dead please God…_

When Iruka saw who was standing in the doorway he almost collapsed with relief. "Raidou!" he gasped out, thankfulness washing over him in waves. "You had me scared half to death here!"

The bigger man smiled at him, but Iruka could see the slight strain around his eyes. "Iruka, they're back, all of them", he said simply. "None of them are seriously injured, but…"

Iruka, who had visibly reacted with joy to Raidou's statement, froze, before suddenly understanding. _That's why they were back late,_ he thought sombrely, meeting Raidou's tired eyes as he asked quietly "It was a bad one wasn't it?"

Raidou passed a hand over his eyes and nodded, slumping tiredly against the doorframe. "Yeah. Gen's as tense as they come at the minute- he's not gonna be getting back to normal any time soon. Just thought I'd come over and warn you, because apparently the rest of them are just as bad." Iruka could hear the weariness in his friend's voice and his heart went out to him. Raidou's lover Genma had been one of the jounin's dispatched alongside Kakashi, and so both he and Raidou had spent most of the week together, united by their shared concern over their other halves. It had done both of them good to be able talk out their concerns, and Iruka had been reassured by the older man's quiet faith in his lover.

Iruka managed to smile at his friend gently. "Thank you Raidou; that means a lot to me. Now please, I don't want to keep you away from Genma any longer then I have to. If he's as bad as you say he is, then I think he's going to need you by his side for a while."

The scarred jounin gave Iruka a grateful nod, before turning and vanishing down the hall. Iruka closed the door, mind whirling with mixed emotions. He was overjoyed that his lover was back, alive and unharmed, but overruling his happiness was the deep concern of what Raidou had just told him. _A bad one, huh? We haven't had a bad one in a while- at least not one bad enough to warrant a warning from another jounin,_ Iruka mused a little sadly. He knew perfectly well what was coming next.

When shinobi are sent out on missions, they develop coping mechanisms to help them deal with the things they see and encounter- different methods for different people. Genma, for example, became sarcastic and jaded, blunt to the people around him and as hard to talk to normally as a brick wall. Raidou became silent and closed off, no emotion showing on his face or though his actions. And Kakashi…

Iruka sighed, rubbing the back of his neck miserably. Kakashi became what the rest of Konoha believed he was- an unapproachable and aloof shinobi. He didn't let anyone get close to him, hiding behind his book and a layer of cold indifference that he projected to everyone- including Iruka.

Iruka shook his head briskly. Well, they had soon gotten around that! The first time it had happened- about two months into their relationship- he had been as hurt and confused as a kicked puppy. He simply couldn't understand why Kakashi wouldn't le him close to him when it was obvious that the silver haired jounin was hurting. It had taken him a couple of hours to realise that it was simply Kakashi's way of keeping all the emotions at bay, and that he was frightened of letting Iruka comfort him because it would mean having to relieve the horrors of his mission all over again. As soon as Iruka had figured that out, he had felt a sense of relief and compassion flood through him- and he started trying to work out how he could help. It meant that now, almost two years later, he knew exactly what to do.

The teacher moved quickly towards the kitchen, glancing down at himself as he went. He was dressed simply, in a baggy black jumper and worn jeans. This was perfect, as Kakashi hated being reminded of anything to do with their work after the bad missions, so Iruka had learnt to change out of his uniform and wear something casual. It didn't actually matter what, so long as- and this melted his heart a little- so long as it smelt like him. When Kakashi had rather shyly told him that, several days after a particularly horrendous mission in the Hidden Mist, Iruka had felt his throat tighten painfully. It was one of the things he made sure he now never forgot.

So, if his clothes were alright, it was time to move on to the next stage. The chuunin unfastened his forehead protector, placing it neatly on the kitchen counter, and loosened his hair tie to allow his dark hair to tumble down around his face. Kakashi had a mild obsession with his hair, loving to stroke it or run his fingers through it. Iruka had noticed that the jounin loved it best when he had it loose, and so he wore it down around the apartment most days now.

The chuunin couldn't help but smile as he began to gather up ingredients from the fridge. Even though he knew that his beloved was hurting, and it would take him a while to return to normal, he still couldn't wait for him to come home! He had missed him painfully this last week, the apartment feeling colder and lonelier without him, and the bed feeling completely empty. He never slept as well when Kakashi was away.

Soon, the small apartment was filled with the smell of chicken stir fry (Kakashi's favourite food) and Iruka began to hum under his breath as he worked, hips swaying gently. This was also part of the healing process- he had lost count of the number of comments he got from Kakashi when he sang or hummed as he cooked, and whilst most of them were as lecherous as could be expected (the man read porn on a regular basis for crying out loud!) the rest had left Iruka with a warm glow inside. More often then not, Kakashi would either hum along with him or slide his arms around his waist and hug him gently from behind, resting his chin on Iruka's shoulder and watch what the tanned chuunin was doing.

Smiling at the memories that conjured up, Iruka started singing gently, thinking all the while of his Kakashi.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,_

_You make me happy, when skies are grey,_

_You'll never know dear, how much I love you,_

_So don't take my sunshine away._

He was halfway through his second rendition of the song when he heard the front door open and close quietly. Iruka stifled his initial instinct to swing around and run to greet Kakashi, instead continuing to sing and stir at the stir-fry, but keeping his ears pricked or any sound. He sensed rather then heard Kakashi come to the kitchen door, and sang again softly "_You'll never know dear, how much I love you…"_

Strong, tight arms wrapped themselves round his waist, hugging Iruka back against the older man's chest. Iruka felt a sense of peace and love well up in his chest as Kakashi buried his face in his hair, inhaling deeply. Slowly, the jounin began to sway them back and forth, in time to the song Iruka was still singing, as he whispered softly in Iruka's ear "I'm home, Iruka."

Iruka smiled lovingly, closing his eyes as he leant back against Kakashi and whispered back "Welcome home, Kakashi."

It was just the start, Iruka knew. They still had a lot to go through yet- Kakashi still needed time to relax and let go of the horrors he had experienced, before he would fully become himself again, but it was alright. Because right now, he was at home with the person who loved him more then anyone else in the world- and so his healing had already begun.

Xxxx

**Ta-da! Hope you all enjoyed my latest offering. I'd love if you let me know what you thought (hint hint!) and let me know if you liked it or not. So until next time!**

**RinkyPink over and out.**


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